NRL Immortal Andrew Johns has led calls for clarification and consistency on “farcical” and “embarrassing” high tackle punishments that are on par with the infamous Magic Round crackdown of 2021.
Amid widespread consternation from clubs and coaches around the bunker’s intervention in matches and fears for next week’s Magic Round event, 15 players have been sin-binned across six matches this weekend, 12 of them for contact with the head of a ball-carrier.
Ten of those incidents resulted in charges by the Match Review Committee on Sunday, with five carrying proposed suspensions totalling a minimum of 11 weeks, and the other five punished by fines.
With two games still to play on Sunday afternoon, the rate of players being marched for head contact compares to the 14 sin-binnings and three send-offs for high tackles at Magic Round four years ago.
Johns was scathing of what he described as a shift in officiating on Nine’s Sunday Footy Show, while Queensland coach Billy Slater said, “referees are jumpy about this situation because they’re told they’re told by [NRL hierarchy] ‘this is what we want it to look like’”.
“The breakdown of this sending players to the bin is absolutely farcical,” Johns said.
Josh Curran learning of his fate on Thursday night.Credit: Getty Images
“It’s gone beyond a joke. It is embarrassing. The over analysis and the overreach of the bunker in play … the bunker should be used only for try-scoring opportunities unless it’s a send-off.
“It’s an out-and-out send-off and they miss it, then fair enough, come in and send the player off. Going back eight plays in a set of six where the referee doesn’t see it, the touch judges don’t see it, the players don’t see it and to send someone to the bin is absolutely farcical.”
South Sydney was on Sunday morning weighing up legal advice from Nick Ghabar regarding a judicial challenge of Latrell Mitchell’s 1-2 game ban for hitting Sua Fa’alogo as he slipped into contact on Friday night.
Mitchell’s dangerous contact charge has the Rabbitohs resigned to an unsuccessful appeal though given the wider scope of the charge compared to a high tackle.
Privately, Souths officials are miffed that Isaiah Yeo was not charged at all for high contact on Manly’s Tom Trbojevic while he was falling in the Sea Eagles’ win over Penrith.
Both Anthony Seibold and Cleary said afterwards that the NRL had over-corrected in their officiating of high shots after multiple incidents went unpunished in round four.
A total of 27 players have been sin-binned for illegal shots since the governing body issued a reminder to its bunker officials to use the sin-bin for high tackle offences.
Penrith’s Scott Sorensen (2-3 week suspension) and Manly’s Siosiua Taukeiaho ($1000-$1500 fine) were both charged for high contact incidents on Saturday night.
Sorensen’s hit on Nathan Brown came as he braced for contact when the Sea Eagles prop came flying off a long kick-off run, while the bunker picked up Taukeiaho’s seemingly innocuous contact with Isaiah Papalii a minute after it occurred with no reaction from players or officials.
Asked if the sin-binnings were over the top, Seibold said: “I don’t think it was just tonight, I’ve watched all the games over the weekend, or most of them anyway.
“I feel like it potentially just needs to be looked at because there’s some tackles that look very similar and some are getting sin-binned, and some aren’t getting sin-binned.
“It’s a really tough job for the referees, I’ve got to say.
“They’re only trying to officiate to the directives they’re given from above. It’s really difficult for them but I think there does needs to be some sort of correction or looking at it. But I don’t have the answer.”
The NRL declined to comment on Sunday.
